Charleston Southern Buccaneers (7-4)

(STATS) - The Big South Conference continues to build in football, announcing Tuesday the University of North Alabama will join as an associate member beginning with the 2019 season.

North Alabama will be rising to the FCS level from Division II, where it won national titles from 1993-95 to become the first school in NCAA scholarship football to win three consecutive titles. The Lions will transition into the Atlantic Sun Conference, which doesn't sponsor football, but has a partnership with the Big South for automatic associate membership in the sport.

Campbell University announced last month it will move from the Pioneer Football League to the Big South in 2018. With North Alabama's arrival a year later, Big South football will have eight members, an all-time high.